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Origins: Jenny Jenkins

23 Jun 02 - 04:15 AM (#735075)
Subject: Jenny Jenkins
From: GUEST,Lesley Cheetham

Does anyone have any versions of this song (tune too would be appreciated)? There is one version on the data base but it is not quite the same as the one I heard on a tape of children's folk songs some years ago from some friends in Seattle (tape long since lost unfortunately).

Lesley

23 Jun 02 - 06:20 AM (#735092)
Subject: Lyr Add: JENNY JENKINS
From: AllisonA(Animaterra)

DT link here.

The kid's version I teach and enjoy is:

Oh, will you wear white, oh my dear, oh my dear,
Will you wear white, Jenny Jenkins?
I won't wear white, 'cause the color's too bright;
I'll buy me a fol-de-rol-de-seek-a-double-roll,
Jenny Jenkins roll

Oh, will you wear (blue)(Insert color preference here)
Oh my dear, oh my dear,
Will you wear blue, Jenny Jenkins?
I won't wear blue, it's the color of my shoe OR It makes me untrue OR it looks like you (Insert rhyme here)
I'll buy me a fol-de-roll-de etc.

Make up several more verses along these lines.
Several verses later...
Oh, what will you wear, oh my dear, oh my dear
What will you wear, Jenny Jenkins?
(Dramatic pause) I've nothing to wear...
So I'll just go BARE!!!!(Pause for hysterical giggles
I'll buy me...

I know there's an ending that goes:
I'll buy me a fol-de-rol-de-seek-a-double-roll to find me

But there's something about the way this one scans that just works best for me!

23 Jun 02 - 06:57 AM (#735099)
Subject: Lyr Add: JENNY JENKINS
From: masato sakurai

Four versions.

(1) Jennie Jenkins
Written By: Unknown
Copyright Unknown

Will you wear white, oh my dear, oh my dear?
Will you wear white, Jennie Jenkins?
No, I won't wear white for the color's too bright
I'll buy me a fol-de-rol-dy, til-de-tol-dy
Seek-a-double, use-a-cause-a, roll-a-find-me
Roll, Jennie Jenkins, roll.

Will you wear blue, oh my dear, oh my dear?
Will you wear blue, Jennie Jenkins?
No, I won't wear blue 'cause blue won't do
I'll buy me a fol-de-rol-dy, til-de-tol-dy
Seek-a-double, use-a-cause-a, roll-a-find-me
Roll, Jennie Jenkins, roll.

Will you wear red, oh my dear, oh my dear?
Will you wear red, Jennie Jenkins?
No, I won't wear red, it's the color of my head
I'll buy me a fol-de-rol-dy, til-de-tol-dy
Seek-a-double, use-a-cause-a, roll-a-find-me
Roll, Jennie Jenkins, roll.

Will you wear pink, oh my dear, oh my dear?
Will you wear pink, Jennie Jenkins?
No, I won't wear pink, I'd rather drink ink
I'll buy me a fol-de-rol-dy, til-de-tol-dy
Seek-a-double, use-a-cause-a, roll-a-find-me
Roll, Jennie Jenkins, roll.

Will you wear green, oh my dear, oh my dear?
Will you wear green, Jennie Jenkins?
No, I won't wear green, it's the color of a bean
I'll buy me a fol-de-rol-dy, til-de-tol-dy
Seek-a-double, use-a-cause-a, roll-a-find-me
Roll, Jennie Jenkins, roll.

Will you wear rose, oh my dear, oh my dear?
Will you wear rose, Jennie Jenkins?
No, I won't wear rose, it's the color of my nose
I'll buy me a fol-de-rol-dy, til-de-tol-dy
Seek-a-double, use-a-cause-a, roll-a-find-me
Roll, Jennie Jenkins, roll.

(SOURCE: KIDiddles: Song Lyrics)

(2) Jennie JenKins
Will you wear red?
Oh my dear,
Oh my dear.
Will you wear red Jennie JenKins?
I won't wear red,
It's the color of my head.
I'll buy me a fol-di-rol-di till-di-tol-di
Seek a double roll
Jennie JenKins Roll.
Red ..............It's the color of my head
Blue..............'Cause the color's too true
Yellow...........It's the color of a fellow
Green............Isn't fit to be seen
Black............ It's the color of my back
Pink...............It's the color of a stink
Orange.......... It's the color of an orange
White............ For the color's too bright
Grey..............It's the color of a whale
Stripes........….pipes
Flowers........….Dowers
Dots........... ….spots

(SOURCE: AAADA)

(3) JENNY JENKINS
(traditional / Public Domain)

Oh, will you wear blue, oh my dear, oh my dear?
Will you wear blue, Jenny Jenkins?
"No, I won't wear blue, 'cause it wouldn't match my shoe
I'll buy me a
folly-rolly-tilly-tolly-seek-a-double-use-a-cause-a-roll-a-fie-me"
Roll, Jenny Jenkins, roll!

[For additional verses, substitute other colors and rhyming phrases for the underlined words]

(Final Verse:)
So, what will you wear, oh my dear, oh my dear?
What will you wear, Jenny Jenkins?
"I'll just go bare, with a ribbon in my hair!
I'll buy me a
folly-rolly-tilly-tolly-seek-a-double-use-a-cause-a-roll-a-fie-me"
Roll, Jenny Jenkins, roll!

[Smart-alec kid: "But what color ribbon will you wear?"]

(SOURCE: Lyrics - Friends)

(4) Jenny Jenkins
Lyrics: Traditional
Music: Traditional

Will you wear white
Oh my dear, oh my dear
Will you wear white, Jenny Jenkins?
No I won't wear white
For the color's too bright

Chorus:
I'll buy me a foldy-roldy, tildy-toldy
Seek-a-double, use-a-cozza roll to find me
Roll, Jenny Jenkins, roll

Will you wear green
Oh my dear, oh my dear
Will you wear green, Jenny Jenkins?
No, I won't wear green
It's a shame to be seen

[chorus]

Will you wear blue
Oh my dear, oh my dear
Will you wear blue, Jenny Jenkins?
No, I won't wear blue
For the color's too true

[chorus]

Will you wear yellow
Oh my dear, oh my dear
Will you wear yellow, Jenny Jenkins?
No, I won't wear yellow
For I'd never get a fellow

[chorus]

Will you wear brown
Oh my dear, oh my dear
Will you wear brown, Jenny Jenkins?
No, I won't wear brown
For I'd never get around

[chorus]

Will you wear beige
Oh my dear, oh my dear
Will you wear beige, Jenny Jenkins?
No, I won't wear beige
For it shows my age

[chorus]

Will you wear orange
Oh my dear, oh my dear
Will you wear orange, Jenny Jenkins?
No, orange I won't wear
And it rhymes so there

[chorus]

What will you wear?
Oh my dear, oh my dear
What will you wear, Jenny Jenkins?
Oh what do you care
If I just go bare

[chorus]

(SOURCE: Greatful Dead Lyric and Song Finder)

~Masato

23 Jun 02 - 08:02 AM (#735110)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jenny Jenkins
From: Malcolm Douglas

A song often found in tradition in America, so there are a lot of different versions. The DT text, JENNY JENKINS, was taken from a record by Margaret MacArthur, and is a collation of two variants in Vermont Folksongs and Ballads (Helen Hartness Flanders and Alice Brown, 1931) rather than a traditional set in its own right. The tune and one verse were recorded by Mrs. Alice Brown, July 24, 1930, in Bethel, Vermont, from the singing of Mrs. Susan Chase; to this, Margaret MacArthur has added the bulk of the other text given, reprinted fron The Green Mountain Songster (1823), using Mrs. Chase's interleaved refrain rather than the older one, which is quite different. The DT doesn't give the tune, but I've made a midi from notation in the book for future inclusion; here is a temporary link to it:

Jenny Jenkins (midi): Mrs. Chase's tune.

A recording made by Sidney Robertson Cowell of Warde Ford in Central Valley, California in 1938 can be found at California Gold: (Library of Congress). I can provide a link to a transcription of the text

Jinnie Jenkins

but it isn't cross-referenced to the audio recording, and so the following link is to a temporary file which will probably expire very quickly. You may have to go to the main page (1st. link above) and browse through the tune titles until you find it. How annoying. Jinnie Jenkins (audio: perhaps)

Here is a short set from North Carolina (1918):

WILL YOU WEAR RED?

(Noted by Cecil Sharp from Mrs. Delie Hughes at Cane River, Burnsville, N.C., in 1918)

O my love, will you wear red?
Will you wear red, Gilly Jenkin?
I won't wear red, for it's the colour of my head.
I'll buy me a dillow, wear a double over dill,
I'll buy me a dillow, wear a daisy.

From English Folk-Songs from the Southern Appalachians, 1932. Until it reaches the Mudcat Midi Pages, a midi made from the notation in that book can be heard via the South Riding Folk Network site:

Will You Wear Red? (midi)

23 Jun 02 - 09:13 AM (#735124)
Subject: Origins: Jenny Jenkins
From: masato sakurai

The Traditional Ballad Index: Jenny Jenkins:

Jenny Jenkins

DESCRIPTION: The young man/men try to invite Jenny to the dance by asking her what color she will wear: "Will you wear the (red), O ne'er, o ne'er, o, Will you wear the red, Jenny Jenkins?" She objects to most colors, but at last may agree to one of them
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1823
KEYWORDS: dancing questions courting rejection clothes colors
FOUND IN: US(Ap,NE,So)
REFERENCES (7 citations):
Randolph 453, "I'll Never Wear the Red Any More" (1 text)
Lomax-FSUSA 15, "Jennie Jenkins" (1 text, 1 tune)
Sharp/Karpeles-80E 65, "Will You Wear Red?" (1 text, 1 tune)
Scott-BoA, pp. 48-49, "Jenny Jenkins" (1 text, 1 tune)
Arnett, p. 11, "Jenny Jenkins" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 346, "Jenny Jenkins" (1 text)
DT, JJENKINS JJENKIN2
RECORDINGS:
E. C. & Orna Ball, "Jennie Jenkins" (AAFS 8)
Mr & Mrs. Estil C. Ball, "Jennie Jenkins" (AFS, 1941; on LC02)
Warde Ford, "Jinnie Jenkins" (AFS 4198 B4, 1938; tr.; in AMMEM/Cowell)
New Lost City Ramblers, "Jennie Jenkins" (on NLCR10)
Margaret MacArthur, "Jenny Jenkins" (on MMacArthur01)
Notes: Often used as a courting game. The boy will ask the girl if she will wear a particular color. She is required to answer in rhyme (e.g. "Will you wear the blue... No, I won't wear the blue, for the color isn't true"). If she fails, she must kiss the boy or, perhaps, go to the dance with him.
This has been known to produce some rather strange rhymes -- "I won't wear purple; it's the color of a turtle"; "Orange I won't wear -- and it rhymes, so there!" "Oh, what do you care If I just go bare?" - RBW
File: R453

Go to the Ballad Search form
Go to the Ballad Index Instructions

The Ballad Index Copyright 2002 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle. .................................................

Recordings:

Jenny Jenkins
Composer(s)
Traditional

Jerry Garcia:
Not For Kids Only, Jerry Garcia and David Grisman, 1993
What Will You Wear, Jenny Jenkins, Jerry Garcia, David Grisman, Bruce Whatley, 2000
Grateful Dawg Soundtrack, David Grisman / Jerry Garcia / Various Artists, 2001

Others:
E. C. and Orna Ball, ('Field recordings')193?
The Solitary Singer, Terry Gilkyson, 1950
Smokey Mountain Ballads, Bascam Lamar Lunsford, 1953
Traditional American Love Songs, Various Artists (Milt Okun and Ellen Stekert), 1956
Susan Reed Sings Old Airs, Susan Reed, 1957
Old Timey Songs for Children, New Lost City Ramblers, 1959
How The West Was Won, Bing Crosby (w/ Rosemary Clooney on Jennie Jenkins), 1959
Anglo-American Shanties, Lyric Songs, Dance Tunes and Spirituals, Various Artists (E. C. and Orna Ball) , 195?
Blue Ridge Mountain Music, Various Artists, 1960
Folksongs of Vermont, Various Artists (Margaret MacArthur), 1963
Courting and Riddle Songs, Jean Ritchie and Oscar Brand, 196?
Hard Times in the Country, Scott and Stanley, 1974
Folk Music in America, Vol.13, Songs of Childhood, Various Artists (George and Ethel McCoy), 1978
Barnyard Dance, Peter Feldmann, 1980
I Kind of Believe It's A Gift, Street Butler, 198?
Fish That's A Song, Various Artists (New Lost City Ramblers), 1991
Great Big Hits, Sharon, Lois, Bram, 1992
Sounds of the South, Various Artists (E. C. and Orna Ball), 1993
Friends, Two Of A Kind, 1994
High Atmosphere: Ballads and Banjo Tunes from Virginia and North Carolina Collected by John Cohen in November of 1965, Various Artists (E. C. and Orna Ball), 1995
Marianne, The Easy Riders, 1995
Songs from the Big Front Porch...A Celebration of American Folk Music, Bridget Ball and Christopher Shaw, 1996
E. C. Ball, E. C. Ball, 1997
Definitive Transatlantic Collection, Hamish Imlach, 1997
Through The Years, 1937-1975, E. C. and Orna Ball, 1998 Roll Along, Chris Molla, 1999 Fish That's A Song, Various Artists (New Lost City Ramblers), 19??
Ain't It Great To Be Crazy, Various Artists, 19??
Sing It Yourself!, Laura Boosinger, 19??
Jenny Jenkins (Karaoke), Various Artists, 19??
Colonial & Revolution Songs Disc 1, Keith & Rusty McNeil, 19??
Wee Sing Fun 'N' Folk (Book/CD), Pamela Conn Beall and Susan Hagen Nipp, 19??
Many A Wonderful Moment, Rosemary Clooney, 2000

Notes:
Occurs as Jenny Jenkins and Jennie Jenkins.
This song is discussed in Southern Mountain Folksongs, W. K. McNeil, 1993. It is thought that the song derives from the game-song Miss Jennia Jones. The earliest recorded version is a text titled Jane Jenkins printed in the Green Mountain Songster in 1823. It's thought that the song was popular during the latter part of the eighteenth century.

(From: THIS PAGE)

~Masato

23 Jun 02 - 10:42 AM (#735174)
Subject: Lyr Add: JANE JENKINS
From: Malcolm Douglas

The other DT file, JENNIE JENKINS, is quoted from a book called A Treasury of Folk Songs (Sylvia and John Kolb); no tune is given or traditional source named. Checking the first line through the Roud Folk Song Index suggests that this version is the one noted by John and Alan Lomax from Mr. & Mrs. E.C. Ball of Rugby, Virginia, in 1937. A tune in ABC notation was given for it in this thread:

Tune Add: Please Post Tunes Here (scroll down a bit to find it) but no source was named so I don't know if it's really the right tune for the text. Nevertheless, here is a midi made from it:

Jennie Jenkins (midi) (original source unknown).

Since the Green Mountain Songster text has come up again, I'll post it as it originally appeared:

JANE JENKINS

(From The Green Mountain Songster, 1823: compiled by "an old Revolutionary Soldier of Sandgate, Vermont".)

Will you wear grey, Onere, Onere?
Will you wear grey, Jane Jenkins?
No, I won't wear grey for its colour of the clay,
So buy me my tallawalawise, so buy me my tallawalawise.

Will you wear black, Onere, will you wear black, Onere?
I won't wear black, for the colour it is slack,
So buy me the tallawalawise, so buy me the tallawalawise,
So double rose Dillevally, Sukey, Dicky,
So double rose Dillevally, Sukey, Dicky, white bands appear,
Where are the robes that you wear, Jane Jenkins.

Will you wear red, Onere, will you wear red, Onere?
l will not wear red for the colour I do dread,
So buy me my tallawalawise, so buy me my tallawalawise,
So double rose Dillevally, Sukey, Dicky, white bands appear.

Will you wear green, Onere, will you wear green, Onere?
I won't wear green for it's the colour that is mean;
So buy me my tallawalawise, so buy me my tallawalawise,
So double rose Dillevally, Sukey, Dicky, white bands appear.

Will you wear white, Onere, will you wear white, Onere?
Will you wear white, Jennie Jenkins
O no I won't wear the white 'tis a colour I dislike,
So buy me my tallawalawise, so buy me my tallawalawise,
So double rose Dillevally, Sukey, Dicky, white bands appear.

Will you wear yellow, Onere, will you wear yellow, Onere?
Will you wear yellow, Jennie Jerkins
So buy me my tallawalawise, so buy me my tallawalawise,
So double rose Dillevally, Sukey, Dicky, white bands appear.

Will you wear blue, Onere, will you wear blue, Onere?
Will you wear blue, Jennie Jenkins
O yes, I'll wear blue for the colour of it's true,
So you've bought me mmy tallawalawise, so you've bought me my tallawalawise,
So double rose Dillevally, Sukey, Dicky, white bands appear.

As quoted in Vermont Folksongs and Ballads (Helen Hartness Flanders and Alice Brown, 1931). Original spellings retained. No tune was printed.

Roud Folk Song Index number 731.

23 Jun 02 - 12:20 PM (#735221)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jenny Jenkins
From: Abby Sale

Malcolm: I think http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?cowellbib:2:./temp/~ammem_qVEP:: is a permanent reference. Got this from Jinny Jenkins search at Keywords. Your "source unknown" midi is as I've usually heard it. I believe from the singing of Jean Ritchie. As expected, she sings it a bit more gently than many others. Closest to Masato's #2.

Likely it's a bit more standardized in the mountains and separately so in New England. At least for the common, easy verses - green, blue, red, etc.

Note that black = back verse. Localizes it as to race some but still a widely sung verse.

Lomax (Blue Ridge Muntain Music, Atlantic) records a nice version from Estil C. Ball in Virginia & discusses the game nature: Such courting duets were popular at country suppers...as a way to break the ice between a pair of timid lovers. In English versions the color symbolism... [relates to magical association]... but in most American varsionsthe list of colors mearly serves as a framework for improvising impudent or downright silly rhymes. He includes 'purple; it's the color of a turkle' (not turtle) which is a local name for a turtle dove.

It thus becomes an excellent game song - here, alternating question & answer & also verses between man & woman.

I've also found it excellent with a carfull of kids as a game. Either I'd sing a color and each kid in turn would have to answer or else as round robin with each kid making its own verse in turn (this is kinder as you start with the more knowing kids to give the less-knowing time to make something up.) Of course, "Jenny-Jenkins-for-blood" is having the kids, in turn, asking and I have to answer them all.

You can tell I'm an old hand at this & long ago worked out a legit English rhyme for orange. Just to have on tap. Obviously, I'd never reveal it to the kids. I don't know now --- I may be the only person who knows it.

It's an excellent

23 Jun 02 - 09:22 PM (#735462)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jenny Jenkins
From: masato sakurai

Wade Ford's singing of "Jinnie Jenkins" (rec. 1938) is online (Click here). Mr. and Mrs. F.C. Ball's version ("Jennie Jenkins", with the "color of turkle" line) is in Lomax and Lomax, Best Loved American Folk Songs [Folk Song: U.S.A.] (Grosset & Dunlop, 1947, pp. 54-55, with music; notes, p. 36); the Bascom Lamar Lunsford version ("Jennie Jenkins") is in W.K. McNeil, Southern Mountain Folksongs (August House, 1993, pp. 132-135, with music).

~Masato

23 Jun 02 - 10:16 PM (#735478)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jenny Jenkins
From: Malcolm Douglas

Thankyou for the Ford link, Masato; I couldn't for the life of me find a way to it yesterday that didn't involve a temporary file. Abby and I have both had problems with the convoluted cross-referencing system at American Memory. What route did you take to get a permanent link?

23 Jun 02 - 11:05 PM (#735499)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jenny Jenkins
From: masato sakurai

Malcolm, in this case the "trick" is very simple. I put "Jinnie Jenkins" into the Google search box. To make a link to American Memory pages is often frustrating.

~Masato

23 Jun 02 - 11:27 PM (#735509)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jenny Jenkins
From: Mudlark

The version I heard, by susan reed, I think ended..."Well what do you care if I just go bare" and the chorus was something like "foller ring, foller ring, foller oodle doodle day, roll, Jennie Jenkins, roll."

23 Jun 02 - 11:55 PM (#735517)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jenny Jenkins
From: Joe_F

I've also heard

I won't wear purple --
It's the color of a turtle.

(Dove, presumably.)

24 Jun 02 - 06:43 AM (#735615)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jenny Jenkins
From: AllisonA(Animaterra)

I'm dazzled by all this scholarly research, and charmed that one of the early sources of this song is right next door in VT (I've got to get me a copy of the Helen Hartness Flanders book- I get it out of the local state college library and renew it for months at time!)
I just want to add that this is just about THE favorite song of the local 5-7 year olds! When we sing it together they love to try to "stump" me- they try to think of color words that I can'f find a rhyme to (still working on "turquise" and "magenta...")

24 Jun 02 - 11:14 AM (#735747)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jenny Jenkins
From: Abby Sale

I'm embarassed to admit that I just had a look at the Amer. Mem. Collection's FAQ. Please don't tell anyone else. They have an item "14.How do I create a permanent link to a specific item in the American Memory Historical Collections? "

The full, simple and clear 75-step process is detailed at Clicky. Malcolm had the right idea that you have to find it then go back to step one, rather than link direct to what was found. They require that you search from the collection you've already discovered the piece is in, rather than an "all collections" search. Then do some stuff you never wanted to do in your life. Not at all sure it's worth it. Still...

1. Find the song in (My own page of checked collections related to song rather than their All Collections page. Much easier to go through the responses.)
2. Make sure it's the right song
3. Go back to first Resultes & note it's California Gold
4. go to that
5. search that
6. Oi!
7. Ctrl-U for page source (Netscape)
8. Find the link following "<!--" (That's "less than!--" in case the left arrow didn't come through) at bottom of this Source page & copy & paste.
9. That would be Perm link to JJ

That was easy.
Oi!

24 Jun 02 - 11:27 AM (#735754)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jenny Jenkins
From: MMario

I won't wear magenta; it makes me feel like a yenta?

24 Jun 02 - 07:49 PM (#736123)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jenny Jenkins
From: Snuffy

Malcolm, Abby Sale is correct about Jean Ritchie. I posted that ABC and several others in that posting from a book called 104 folk songs as recorded on Folkways records by famous folk song singers (Robbins 1964). The attribution is "From the singing of Jean Ritchie. Folkways FA 2428."

Lomax's Penguin Book of American Folksongs (Penguin 1964), also has a version called "Will You Wear Red" from the Blue Ridge Mountains, and also gives alternate rhymes found by Randolph in the Ozarks.

I'll try and find time to see if they've already been covered. If not I'll try to post them soon.

WassaiL! V

24 Jun 02 - 10:03 PM (#736189)
Subject: LyrAdd: I'LL NEVER WEAR THE RED ANY MORE
From: masato sakurai

Randolph's Ozark version is quite different, and contains the name of "Jenny jin-ki-o".

I'LL NEVER WEAR THE RED ANY MORE
(From Mrs. Maggie K. Kreitzer, Mountain Grove, Mo., Oct. 28, 1940)

I'll never wear the red any more, any more,
I'll never wear the red any more,
I'll never wear the red 'cause it's the color of my head--

 Singin' buy me a turley whirl,
 A double double early whirl,
 A rucker sucker rye
 A ground turley oh,
 A brown buck berry
 To my lovely Jenny jin-ki-o!

I'll never wear the white any more, any more,
I'll never wear the white any more,
I'll never wear the white till I get myself a wife--

(SOURCE: Vance Randolph, Ozark Folksongs, vol. III, No. 453 [p. 208]; without music)

~Masato

25 Jun 02 - 03:40 PM (#736718)
Subject: Lyr Add: JEANNIE JENKINS (from Janet Russell)
From: Willa

Hi, Lesley
Janet Russell does a great version of this on her CD "Bright Shining Morning?" You really need to listen to her singing, in her Scottish accent, as it's very difficult to write the words the way she sings them. The nearest I can get is

Jeannie Jenkins

Oh, Mother, would I wear ma broon goon the day, oh?
No, I wouldna wear your broon, Jeanie Jenkins, oh.
No, I wouldna wear your broon for tae gan into toon
Chorus
And I'll buy ye a roly poly sugar alley hokey pokey whoops corduroy, Jeannie Jenkins, oh.
whoops corduroy, Jeannie Jenkins, oh.

Successive colours/verses then
green goon - green, it's na fit tae be seen
reed goon - reed, it's the colour o' ma bleed
yellow goon - yellow, for the colour's too mellow
white goon - white, for the colour's too bright
Last verse is
Oh, Mother, would I wear ma blue goon the day, oh?
Aye, I'd wear your blue, Jeannie Jenkins, oh.
I'll wear ma blue, Mother, just to please you.
And I'll buy ye a rolypoly sugar alley hokey pokey whoops corduroy, Jeannie Jenkins, oh,
whoops corduroy, Jeannie Jenkins, oh.

25 Jun 02 - 04:18 PM (#736763)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jenny Jenkins
From: Malcolm Douglas

Janet herself transcribes the first verse thus:

Oh mither will I wear my broon goon the day oh
No I wouldna wear yer broon, Jeannie Jenkins oh
I wouldna wear yer broon for tae gan intae toon
And I'll buy ye a roly poly sugarally hokey pokey
Whoop cordurouy Jeannie Jenkins oh
Whoop cordurouy Jeannie Jenkins oh .

She learned it from Stravaig, who learned it from Zeta St.Clair (Isla's mum). Isla sings it too.

25 Jun 02 - 04:35 PM (#736783)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jenny Jenkins
From: GUEST,Lesley Cheetham

Thank you to everyone. The response has been totally overwhelming and very helpful. I am now going to perfect a hybrid version complete with historical annotation.

Thanks again

Lesley

25 Jun 02 - 06:41 PM (#736896)
Subject: Lyr/Tune Add: JENNY JENKINS
From: Snuffy

My post of yesterday was actually misleading. Although I posted a lot of tunes that day from the Folkways book, for some reason I chose to transcribe the Lomax version of JJ rather than the Ritchie version. I'd just got back from a hard night of Morris dancing, singing and drinking, and wasn't paying sufficient attention.

To set the record straight, here are both versions with their correct tunes:

JENNY JENKINS
(sung by Jean Ritchie)

Oh will you wear blue, oh my dear, oh my dear?
Oh will you wear blue, Jenny Jenkins?
No, I won't wear blue, the color ain't true.

I'll buy me a fol-de-roldy tildy-toldy,
Seek-a-double, use a cause-a, roll to find me,
Roll, Jenny Jenkins, roll

Oh will you wear brown, oh my dear, oh my dear?
Oh will you wear brown, Jenny Jenkins?
No, I won't wear brown, it's all around the town.

Oh will you wear black, oh my dear, oh my dear?
Oh will you wear black, Jenny Jenkins?
No, I won't wear black, it's the color of a sack.

Oh will you wear mauve, oh my dear, oh my dear?
Oh will you wear mauve, Jenny Jenkins?
No, I won't wear mauve, 'cause it's too suave.

Oh will you wear beige, oh my dear, oh my dear?
Oh will you wear beige, Jenny Jenkins?
No, I won't wear beige, they would put me in a cage.

Then what will you wear, oh my dear, oh my dear?
What will you wear, Jenny Jenkins?
Oh I'll just go bare with a ribbon in my hair.

X: 227
T:Jenny Jenkins
M:2/4
L:1/16
S:Jean Ritchie, Folkways FA2428
K:D
A4|
DDD2 F2FF|E2FF A,2A,2|
DDD2 F2FG|A4 A4- |A8 |
A6 A2|B2A2 F2D2 |EED2 B,2A,2||
%CHORUS
D2DD DDDD|DDDD DDDD |DDDD D3A, |
B,2 D6 |F8- |F2DD E2E2 |D8-|D4||



WILL YOU WEAR RED?
(From Alan Lomax; Penguin Book of American Folksongs)

O will you wear red, O my dear, O my dear?
Will you wear red, Jennie Jenkins?
I won't wear red, it's the color of my head.

I'll buy me a twirley-whirley, sookey-lookey,
Sally-Katty, double-lolly,
Roll-the-find me, roll, Jenny Jenkins, roll

O will you wear blue, etc.
Will you wear blue, etc.
I won't wear blue, for I won't be true.

O will you wear yaller, etc.
Will you wear yaller, etc.
I won't wear yaller, I've got the wrong feller.

O will you wear green, etc.
Will you wear green, etc.
I won't wear green, for I'm 'shamed to be seen.

O will you wear brown, etc.
Will you wear brown, etc.
I won't wear brown and live out of town.

O will you wear purple, etc.
Will you wear purple, etc.
I won't wear purple, it's the color of a turkle.

O what will you wear, O my dear, O my dear?
What will you wear, Jennie Jenkins?
Now what do you care if I just go bare.

"The answer-back song brought together many a shy courting couple at frontier socials in New England and the Southern Mountains. The boy named the colours, and it was up to the girl to find a rhyming line, the siller the better. In this atmosphere of rural spoofery, the colour rhymes gradually lost the ritual significance that they had in earlier songs like Miss Jennia Jones . So it was in the version which we found in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. But in the Ozarks Vance Randolph found the rhyme:
Blue is true,
Yeller's jealous,
Green's forsaken,
Red is brazen,
White is love,
And Black is death."
X: 33
T:Will You Wear Red?
M:C|
L:1/8
S:Alan Lomax, Penguin Book of American Folksongs
K:E
B,2|
EEE2 G2EE|F2GG B,4 |EEE2 G2FG |B2 B6-|
B4 z2B2|c2B2 G2EE|FFEE C2B,2||
E2EE EEEE|EEEE EEEE|EEEE E3B, |E2 E6 |
G8- |G2FG F2F2|E6 ||


WassaiL! V

25 Jun 02 - 09:48 PM (#737017)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jenny Jenkins
From: raredance

A version that has the same nonsense lines as Masato's #1 way up above and using some of the other common colors is printed in "Eye Winker Tom Tinker Chin Chopper" by Tom Glazer (1973 Zephyr Books, Doubleday and Co.). It includes a musical score with melody and simple piano lines. "Jim Along, Josie" by Nancy & John Langstaff (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, INc 1970) borrows Cecil Sharp's version and adds a couple standard colors. It also has a melody line. The two melodies are not the same.

rich r

25 Jun 02 - 11:18 PM (#737064)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jenny Jenkins
From: Lynn

Chris Shaw and Bridget Ball do a nice version of this song on their album "Songs from the Big Front Porch". I THINK their web site is something like bridgetandchris.com, but I'm not positive. I heard Bridget do this song at the Night Eagle in Oxford, NY. She requested colors to add to the vss from the audience. Someone suggested 'puse' [sp? pron. pyoose], and after a brief thought sang, 'No I won't wear puse. I just refuse' (pronouncing it 'refyoose', of course.) On the CD they do orange as 'No orange I won't wear and it rhymes. So there!' and end with 'What will you wear, oh my dear...Well, what do you care if I just go bare!' I'd be careful about using that in the schools, though!

Lynn

27 Jun 02 - 11:42 AM (#738219)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jenny Jenkins
From: Abby Sale

Snuffy: Yes, that's the Ritchie version I've always felt comfortable with. Much easier chorus than the others....

Re the Russell/Stravaig/St.Clair version. I haven't heard this at all but something struck a small chord. The accent as transcribed reminds me much of Jeanie Robertson's. Could this possibly be one of the songs Jean Ritchie taught Jeanie?

27 Jun 02 - 12:01 PM (#738242)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jenny Jenkins
From: GUEST,vixen @ work

Reynaud and I performed this at one of the FSGW getaways--it's one of our favorites. He loves coming up with stumpers.

For turquoise, I use annoys

right now, I'm stumped on fuschia and aqua. I hope he never asks for silver!

I *do* have a rhyme for orange!

V

27 Jun 02 - 01:29 PM (#738316)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jenny Jenkins
From: DonD

I' creeping! Fuschia -- as mentioned above by Vixen is a stumper. But it struck me that that's not the proper name of the color or the flower it comes from. It's really 'fuchsia' named after the botanist who first identified it -- Fuchs -- the sane way the Wisteria is named after Wister and Forsythia is named after Forsyth and Lobelia is named after Lobel, etc. etc.

When I checked Atomica/Google for 'fuschia', however, I got 1-10 ofover 50,000 listings in the search and I thought I must be wrong or the wrong spelling has taken over. So hen I checked 'fuschia' and there are about aquarter million results! And now that I've finished reading them all ...

I think they're both pronounced 'foosha' and I can't rhyme either one, unless -- "I'd look like I came from Russia/Rooshia?"

And for 'aqua --

"Aquamarine? That's even worse than green!"

Orange? "I'd look like I'd got the mange!" or "... too strange." or " a member of the Grange(?!?)"

Crimson? Ecru?? Lavender???

Okay maybe for a captive audience of kids in a car, but after ten colors for a group in a hall with exits and you'd find everyone gone before you got to 'turkle'.

27 Jun 02 - 02:21 PM (#738369)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jenny Jenkins
From: CapriUni

According to my CD-Rom of The American Heritage Dictionary (With a sound file of a man with very good diction pronouncing each word, "Fuchsia" is pronounced f'yusha, or, as it's written in dictionary code fyoo'she, but with the e upside down... can't remember the name of it for the life of me...

Anyway, how about:

"I won't wear fuchsia; I think you should!"

And for aqua:

"I won't wear aqua, it's louder than an opera!"

Orange is obviously:

"I won't wear orange, they'll think I'm a door hinge!"

Give me more time for "Silver"...

16 Feb 05 - 03:24 PM (#1412169)
Subject: Jenny Jenkins query
From: GUEST,Gary Morris garymmorris@yahoo.com

Hi folks,

I've puzzled over the lyrics of this song for awhile - the E.C. & Ona Ball version of it. As best I can determine, Ona is singing, e.g.,

I won't wear green, for it's shame to be seen
I'll buy me a folly-rolly tilly-tolly seek a double use a causa (?) roll, to bind me
Roll, Jenny Jenkins roll.

Is the "folly-rolly..." part a nonsense thing, like a children's game lyric? The message seems to be about female assertiveness (or perhaps fickleness), as Jenny rejects all the colors offered by her beau ("Will you wear green, my dear old, dear old, will you wear green, Jenny Jenkins?"). She *seems* to be saying she's got some other plan in mind, maybe that she's going to buy her own dress - but what do the words mean? Any insights anyone has would be greatly appreciated!

16 Feb 05 - 03:39 PM (#1412190)
Subject: RE: Jenny Jenkins query
From: Peace

Words here.

Jenny Jenkins

Lyrics: Traditional
Music: Traditional

Jerry played this with David Grisman, and recorded it on "Not For Kids Only"

Will you wear white
Oh my dear, oh my dear
Will you wear white, Jenny Jenkins?
No I won't wear white
For the color's too bright

Chorus
I'll buy me a foldy-roldy, tildy-toldy
Seek-a-double, use-a-cozza roll to find me
Roll, Jenny Jenkins, roll

Will you wear green
Oh my dear, oh my dear
Will you wear green, Jenny Jenkins?
No, I won't wear green
It's a shame to be seen

[chorus]

Will you wear blue
Oh my dear, oh my dear
Will you wear blue, Jenny Jenkins?
No, I won't wear blue
For the color's too true

[chorus]

Will you wear yellow
Oh my dear, oh my dear
Will you wear yellow, Jenny Jenkins?
No, I won't wear yellow
For I'd never get a fellow

[chorus]

Will you wear brown
Oh my dear, oh my dear
Will you wear brown, Jenny Jenkins?
No, I won't wear brown
For I'd never get around

[chorus]

Will you wear beige
Oh my dear, oh my dear
Will you wear beige, Jenny Jenkins?
No, I won't wear beige
For it shows my age

[chorus]

Will you wear orange
Oh my dear, oh my dear
Will you wear orange, Jenny Jenkins?
No, orange I won't wear
And it rhymes so there

[chorus]

What will you wear?
Oh my dear, oh my dear
What will you wear, Jenny Jenkins?
Oh what do you care
If I just go bare

[chorus]
Source: Grateful Dead Lyric And Song Finder

16 Feb 05 - 05:08 PM (#1412316)
Subject: RE: Jenny Jenkins query
From: Azizi

Guest Gary Morris,

You asked:
Is the "folly-rolly..." part a nonsense thing, like a children's game lyric?"

A short answer is YES.

There have been a number of Mudcat threads on this song.

Put Jenny Jenkins in the Lyrics & Knowledge Search box, press search and you'll not only find the lyrics Brucie found for you via hyperlink but also other lyrics including some with different nonsense words.

You will also find pages for threads and posts about this song.

And Guest Gary.."nonsense lyrics" by definition are 'nonsense'- meaning that they don't mean anything..

Did these nonsense words originally mean anything?

Maybe.. Maybe not..Who knows..

Enjoy!!

Azizi

16 Feb 05 - 05:53 PM (#1412375)
Subject: RE: Jenny Jenkins query
From: GUEST,Gary Morris garymmorris@yahoo.com

Thanks for the replies, folks. I realize that "nonsense" can be just "nonsense" in such lyrics but the phrase in question seems to tantalize with obscure meaning, perhaps lost over time. I don't think E.C. & Ona Ball are saying "to find me" (though the Garcia lyric and other sources put it that way). It sounds more like "to bind me" - which would make sense when talking about a dress. Also the word "roll" could mean a roll of cloth. None of this speculation is meant to minimize the joy of this tune, one of my absolute favorites (especially by the Balls) among the wealth of traditional folk tunes. I'm just curious...

16 Feb 05 - 05:54 PM (#1412376)
Subject: RE: Jenny Jenkins query
From: GUEST,Gary Morris garymmorris@yahoo.com

Forgot to mention - I'm going to check Sharp and Child & any other sources I can find at the library to see what they say... thanks again! Gary

16 Feb 05 - 06:12 PM (#1412400)
Subject: RE: Jenny Jenkins query
From: Amos

When I heard it as a child I always thought it was" ....robe, to buy me ... robe, Jenny Jenkins' robe."

I thought they were arguiing about the color of her bathrobe!!

Boy is my monde green! Either that or Brucie found a transcriptionist with a dead ear.

A

17 Feb 05 - 12:24 AM (#1412690)
Subject: RE: Jenny Jenkins query
From: Q (Frank Staplin)

Jenny Jenkins was discussed, with the version posted here, in thread 48821. Jenny Jenkins

Being a children's play version of the 1823 American (and older English-Scotch) originals, I wouldn't expect it to have any particular meaning other than the obvious about a troublesome gal.
The original (in the DT,) ends with the gal asking "So buy me a tally wally aye, sir," also meaningless, but nonsense lines used as a sort of chorus are common in 18th-19th century songs.

But read previous threads, please, and post in the thread linked above before we go around in another circle endlessly repeating what has already been discussed. Masato and Malcolm have given basic information there.

17 Feb 05 - 12:25 AM (#1412692)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jenny Jenkins
From: Q (Frank Staplin)

Refresh

17 Feb 05 - 01:31 AM (#1412721)
Subject: RE: Jenny Jenkins query
From: GUEST,Gary Morris garymmorris@yahoo.com

Q, thank you SO much for providing this link. I wasn't aware of all this discussion and it's incredibly informative. Now at least I have a sense of this song's rich history.

Gary

17 Feb 05 - 01:35 AM (#1412723)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jenny Jenkins
From: GUEST,Gary Morris, garymmorris@yahoo.com

I found this discussion through another thread, directed by Q. Just wanted to thank everybody for the light shed on this song that's fascinated me since I heard the E. C. & Ona Ball version (my favorite) a year or so ago.

Gary

17 Feb 05 - 01:41 AM (#1412726)
Subject: RE: Jenny Jenkins query
From: Kaleea

In some versions sung by Irish Americans, the not wearing the color green is about the fact that at one time the Irish people were forbidden to wear green. There was, believe it or not, a great deal of prejudice against Irish Americans in the not too distant past.

17 Feb 05 - 03:21 AM (#1412770)
Subject: RE: Jenny Jenkins query
From: Malcolm Douglas

I don't doubt that; but this isn't an Irish song, and the use of green as an indicator of republican sympathies in Ireland during the 19th century is irrelevant in this context. Here, it's just another colour. It was sometimes considered unlucky to wear green at weddings; but for entirely different reasons.

As Q suggested, substantive discussion might be better placed in the earlier thread in order to avoid unnecessary repetition and, just perhaps, to encourage at least a little sticking to the point.

Meanwhile, see also this discussion of what appears to be an earlier form of the dialogue, as a children's game. The additional business would make more clear the reasons for what happens in the "stripped down" form we have here: Origin of Aunt Jenny Died

17 Feb 05 - 02:25 PM (#1413165)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jenny Jenkins
From: Q (Frank Staplin)

Also see thread 76201, where "Miss Jennia Jones" is transcribed from W. W. Newell, 1883, "Games and Songs of American Children," No. 11, pp. 63-66.
Malcolm has comments about Jinny (Jenny) Jo and other Scots-English versions in the same thread.
Thread 76201: Jenny Died

17 Feb 05 - 04:25 PM (#1413287)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jenny Jenkins
From: GUEST,Frank

"I won't wear o---range cuz it looks so strange".
"I won't wear polka dot, cuz I'd look like I was shot"
I wouldn't wear camoflage to clean my garage"

Frank

17 Feb 05 - 05:30 PM (#1413361)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jenny Jenkins
From: Uncle_DaveO

The "Jenny Jenkins" words I know (showing the first verse) are as follows, refrain in bold:

Basco Lamar Lunsford, the great North Carolina (??) folk singer, banjo player, and folk festival organizer, sang a more complicated version:




Oh, will you wear red, oh my dear, oh, my dear?
Will you wear red, Jenny Jenkins?
I won't wear red, it's the color of my head,
I'll buy me a tally feather, aye, sir.
I'll buy me a tally, walk-a-belly so to wear with m'robe
To go with m'robe, Jenny Jenkins
I'll buy me a tally feather, aye, sir
I'll buy me a tally feather
Double dose a dilly-dally
Suky, suky why man
As' a rosy, juicy why
Jenny Jenkins!

Will you wear green (etc.)

Haven't thought of that for a long time. I've got to get my banjo out and work it up again!
Dave Oesterreich

17 Feb 05 - 05:33 PM (#1413364)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jenny Jenkins
From: Uncle_DaveO

As to Bascom Lamar Lunsford's version, I might just tell you how I like to introduce it:

The narrator of this song is a young man who is evidently completely confused by female fashion terms!

Dave Oesterreich

19 Feb 05 - 09:42 AM (#1414925)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jenny Jenkins
From: Jim Dixon

The Library of Congress American Memory Collection field recording (made in Central Valley, California in 1938 by collector Sidney Robertson Cowell of Warde Ford singing JINNIE JENKINS) has been mentioned above, but nobody posted the lyrics.

JINNIE JENKINS

Will you wear the red, Jinnie Jenkins?
Oh, will you wear the red, my dear?
Oh, no, I won't wear the red
It's a color that will fade.

CHORUS: So buy me the tella-wella why-thee
So buy me the tella-wella double-rose
A dilla-villa soakey-doakey wifey into gear
Is the robe that I wear, Jinnie Jenkins.

Oh, will you wear the green, Jinnie Jenkins?
Oh, will you wear the green, my dear?
No, I won't wear the green
In it I'll never be seen. CHORUS

[You can hear Ford's performance on this page. The transcription came from this page.]

19 Feb 05 - 10:09 AM (#1414935)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jenny Jenkins
From: GUEST,Uncle DaveO

I mentioned the version sung by Bascom Lamar Lunsford. I should have added, and didn't, his last verse, which resolves things a little:

Will you wear brown, oh my dear, oh my dear?
Will you wear brown, Jenny Jenkins?
Yes, I'll wear brown, I'll go up town,
I'll buy me a tally-feather, aye, sir . etc. etc.

Dave Oesterreich

11 Jun 08 - 11:41 PM (#2363916)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jenny Jenkins
From: T in Oklahoma (Okiemockbird)

When I sang it to my kids I sang the colors in order of decreasing wavelength, beginning with red and ending with blue. White came between green and blue.

Red-it's the color of my head
Orange-orange is boring
Yellow-it won't get me no fellow
Green-I'm ashamed to be seen
White-it don't suit me right
Blue-blue won't do.

11 Jun 08 - 11:43 PM (#2363917)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jenny Jenkins
From: T in Oklahoma (Okiemockbird)

Oops. I lied. I remember now I sang the colors in order of increasing wavelength, beginning with blue and ending with red. White came second, after blue and before green.

11 Nov 10 - 04:01 PM (#3029695)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jenny Jenkins
From: CapriUni

This song has been going through my head of late (like today), and to keep myself from getting bored with it, I've tried to come up with new rhyrmes / answers for each color, each time.

...Several years ago, I wrote:

Give me more time for "Silver"...

That finally came to me last week:

"I won't wear silver, it might get pilfered."

Now, what about different ways of answering the final: "What will you wear?"

12 Nov 10 - 09:16 AM (#3030261)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jenny Jenkins
From: GUEST,kmbraun

From Jean Ritchie,

What will you wear ...

I'll go bare with a ribbon in my hair.

12 Nov 10 - 04:08 PM (#3030603)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jenny Jenkins
From: Goose Gander

Color Song

White, Oh white, oh white, oh dear -
White, Oh white color Jenkins
I wouldn't wear white
Cause you'd see it at night
I'll buy me a hum-a-dum-a-diddle-a-daddle-dubble-wubble
sackajus-a-boddle-a-bindin's -
To wear with the roobajum jenkins.

Pink, Oh pink, oh pink, oh dear
Pink, Oh pink color Jenkins
I wouln't wear pink
Cause the color would stink
I'll buy me a hum-a-dum-a-diddle-a-daddle-dubble-wubble
sackajus-a-boddle-a-bindin's -
To wear with the roobajum jenkins.

Brown, Oh brown, oh brown, oh dear
Brown, Oh brown color Jenkins
I wouldn't wear brown
Cause it's the color of the town
I'll buy me a hum-a-dum-a-diddle-a-daddle-dubble-wubble
sackajus-a-boddle-a-bindin's -
To wear with the roobajum jenkins.

Green, Oh green, oh green, oh dear
Green, Oh green color Jenkins
I wouldn't wear green
Cause the color could be seen
I'll buy me a hum-a-dum-a-diddle-a-daddle-dubble-wubble
sackajus-a-boddle-a-bindin's -
To wear with the roobajum jenkins.

As sung by Bill Jackson and Myra Pipkin in Arvin FSA Camp, 1941.

12 Nov 10 - 04:51 PM (#3030644)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jenny Jenkins
From: CapriUni

Here are some alternatives to going bare I've thought of, to amuse myself:

"Would you be mad if I wore plaid?" (Thanks to Groucho Marx!)

"I'll bounce off the wall, and wear them all!"

"I'll go crazy, and just wear paisley!"

Etc.

12 Nov 10 - 05:17 PM (#3030659)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jenny Jenkins
From: Joe_F

Oh. Farm Security Administration. Having just been listening to an interview with Tom Lehrer, I wondered if the Folk Song Army actually existed. %^)

12 Nov 10 - 05:21 PM (#3030663)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jenny Jenkins
From: Goose Gander

A little more . . .

*This song was explained by Mrs. Myra Pipkin with the following rhymes:

Marry in white
You're sure to be right.

Marry in blue
You're sure to be true.

Marry in green
You're ashamed to be seen.

Marry in brown
You'll live in town.

Marry in red
You'll wish yourself dead.

Marry in black
You'll wish yourself back.

"Should always get married in white or blue -
right and true."

Source: Voices From the Dust Bowl, again.

12 Nov 10 - 07:13 PM (#3030744)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Jenny Jenkins
From: CapriUni

Joe F-- Now you've got me thinking of the days after 9/11 in America, and the obsession with color-coded security levels. ...I'm now wondering what that would be like with a Jenny Jenkins edition

Goose Gander:

"Dress in brown = live in town" reminds me of my Mother's stories, growing up. She grew up in NYC from the mid-1930s - 50s, and she said the native New Yorkers all wore dark browns and blacks, because that way, the soot that was in the air from all the factories and car exhaust wouldn't show on your clothes. And you could always tell the who the tourists were, because they were dressed in their pastel-colored fancy clothes.

That started to change, with the advent of the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), and the Clean Air Act. Now NYC natives are as colorful as everyone else. :-)

Of course, living in town is not necessarily a bad fate for a bride, depending on which town that ends up being (keeps that in mind for any possible future wedding).

03 Jan 16 - 11:00 AM (#3762554)
Subject: RE: Origins: Jenny Jenkins
From: CapriUni

This song has been stuck in my head since I watched this video from Raymond Crooke: 2016. Jenny Jenkins -- with Axel. I admire how they're singing it: ad lib -- coming up with new lines/rhymes as they go. Done this way, it makes more sense as a courting/riddle song, than if you sing each verse with "proper" answers that have been memorized.

And, since I've had that chorus stuck in my head, I'm starting to wonder if "I'll buy me a fol-de-rol-dy, til-de-tol-dy/Seek-a-double, use-a-cause-a, roll-a-find-me" began its life as "Roll of binding," as in Seam binding (ribbon).

Thoughts? Sewing circle history, anyone?

03 Oct 20 - 05:53 PM (#4074198)
Subject: RE: Origins: Jenny Jenkins
From: GUEST,Molly Lynn Watt

I learned this song when I was 19 and sang on the green of Old Sturbridge Village with Bill Bonyun. I am now almost 83. It was a courting song that the village researchers found was sung in New England during the period of the Vilkage 1790 to 1840 at that time. A great coquettish rhyming game trying to stump whoever sang the Jenny or Jackie part by rare colors sometimes impossible to rhyme. I was on staff at OSV in the late fifties as was my then husband, music critic, Robert L. Gustafson.